To Die For Chicken Noodle Soup

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

This recipe is an absolute favorite of mine and my husband.   It is SOOOOO good! (due to a secret ingredient) :-)  So bear with me, I promise to give you the recipe but let me ramble a little (and from what the experts say, a “good” blog never rambles…..oh well)

Anyway, 3rd grade 4H Home Ec class, I learned how to make and roll out my own egg noodles. I remember the hardest part was getting my little 9 year old arms to get that dough thin enough, and it is STILL the hardest part of this recipe and no, I’m not telling you how old I am now.  :-)

I always buy those rotisserie chickens at Costco and slice off the good chicken breast and leave all the other pieces on the carcass.  I really don’t like to waste food so I always make this soup with the left over chicken.
Unfortunately I don’t really have a written recipe, but I’m just going to tell you what I do and than you can elaborate with your own ideas at home.

EGG NOODLES: (do this first, double for a large crowd!)

1 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg
2 Tbsp. milk

Mix flour and salt in a large bowl.  Make an indent on top of the pile of flour.  In the indent put the egg and milk. Start stirring where the egg and milk is than continue to mix it all together.  The last part of the blending I do by kneading it with my hands.  Flour surface of counter and roll out to around 1/8th inch.  Once rolled out sprinkle with flour and loosely roll up.  Without a lot of pressure cut out 1/4 – 1/2 inch strips.  Unravel and place on a rack or on the bowl to dry.  These should dry for at least 2 hours, but they can dry all day too. (in fact you could do this part a day ahead of time and store in an air tight container) 

These home made noodles really make this dish spectacular and aren’t hard to make, so don’t go buying the pre-packaged noodles on me now!

CHICKEN SOUP:

Place left over chicken carcass in a pot of water (fill almost up to the top of the chicken)  Bring to a boil than let simmer for 1-2 hours.  You just want the meat to fall off the bone.  Pull out the chicken but keep the broth. 

Separate the chicken off the bones and shred into pieces.

Take out around 3 cups of broth and put it in the blender along with one package (8oz) cream cheese.  THE SECRET INGREDIENT!  Blend up and place it back in the pot.

Add cut celery, onions, carrots, and potatoes.  You could add some minced garlic, salt and pepper too.  Let simmer till veggies are tender.  (another hour?)

Add shredded chicken back into the pot and start back up to a boil.  Add your dried egg noodles to the boiling pot along with a cup of frozen green peas.  Boil for 10 minutes.

It’s ready to eat!!!!  I’d say it serves 4-6 people but really you can make this as big or small as you’d like.  Just add more water or more veggies to make it for a larger crowd.  Of course if you are making a bigger pot don’t forget to add another pack of the secret ingredient Cream Cheese!  I am really excited for you to try this - I think you’ll just love the creamy taste. 

       I didn’t have any green peas to add, but when you add them it really gives this soup some color.

ENJOY!!!!  Leave a comment when you make this!

~ Creative Juices Decor~